Gwangju Citizens Negative on Additional Apartment Supply... "Prefer Urban Regeneration"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Five out of ten Gwangju citizens expressed negative opinions about additional apartment supply.

According to a public opinion survey on housing policy conducted by the Korea Policy Research Institute at the request of Gwangju Metropolitan City on the 24th, 49.2% of respondents opposed the expansion of apartment supply.

The reasons cited included "decreased apartment demand due to stagnant population growth and population decline" (37.2%) and "preference for urban regeneration utilizing existing houses, spaces, and history rather than apartment-centered redevelopment" (35.5%).

On the other hand, 38.2% wanted an expansion of supply.

Regarding restrictions on the number of floors in high-rise apartments, 58% were in favor and 42% opposed.

The main reason for support was "vulnerability to fire disasters" (34.3%).

The most preferred housing welfare policy for single-person households that Gwangju City hopes to promote was "providing affordable public rental housing" (49%).

Next were "monthly rent or housing cost subsidies" (19.3%) and "housing purchase loan support" (15.3%).

The survey was conducted from the 5th to the 30th of last month among 503 men and women aged 20 or older residing in Gwangju City. The sampling error is ±4.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

Park Mi-jung, a city council member who proposed the survey, stated, "We plan to do our best to ensure that citizens' opinions are effectively reflected in Gwangju City's future housing policies," adding, "We will share the results of this survey with the executive branch and closely review the progress of policy implementation."